


Lost It All

by scriobh



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-12-16 01:21:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/856156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scriobh/pseuds/scriobh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt and Hal end up in the forest right by some aliens that don't have the best intentions. Set somewhere in season two.</p><p>Prompt listed at the end because it contains spoilers for the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost It All

“Matt, buddy, it’s gonna be okay. Look at me, not them. Alright? I’m going to get you home.” Hal whispered, wrapping a torn bit of fabric around his little brother’s leg and tying it tightly.

“Hal… I’m sorry I came out here. I-I wasn’t thinking. I had a dream about mom and-”

“Shh, Matty, it’s okay,” Hal checked that the temporary bandage would hold and then looked over the boy’s shoulder at the skitters who were searching for them nearby. “Okay, bud, can you walk?” he whispered urgently. Matt got to his feet and stood shakily.

“It hurts a lot,” he hissed, tears springing to his eyes.

Hal was disheartened at having to tell him to be quiet again frantically as Matt continued to speak too loudly. “Alright, get on my back, little man. We’re getting out of here.” He bent down so Matt could climb up and wrap his arms and legs around him. He then felt the boy bury his face in the familiarity of his body before pulling his gun into his hands and holding it ready to shoot. “I need you to not make a sound, okay?” he felt Matt nod and, with another look at the skitters, he turned away and started back toward the remainder of the 2nd Mass.

Seconds passed with no sound other than the crunching of leaves until the two boys heard the robotic wailing of a mech. Hal turned to look back as Matt let out a small whimper and tightened his hold on him. He saw the aliens gaining ground on them, and he desperately began to run faster. ‘We only just got Ben back. I can’t lose Matt.’ He thought as he ran, well aware of how fast the skitters were. He knew that they would catch up before long, but he needed to give his brother a fighting chance.

They were just over half a mile away from camp when Hal swerved abruptly and then began speaking quickly in urgent tones.

“Matt, I know you’re hurting, but camp isn’t far. You head in that direction as fast as you can, and you don’t look back, understand? There’ll be sentries around. Find one, tell them that there’s a mech and a dozen skitters heading their way from the west in the next few minutes, and then get yourself to Doctor Glass and get your leg looked at. You got all that?” he panted.

“Yes, but-”

“Good. I love you, Matty.” He quickly slid the boy off his back and turned to wait for the attack with his gun poised and ready. “Go!”

The young boy did as he was told, tears glinting in his eyes as he left his brother behind and ran toward safety. He heard gunshots behind him, but his big brother had instructed him not to look back as he ran, so he didn’t. He kept going until he came upon a man standing watch around the perimeter of camp. He relayed Hal’s message, pointing to where the attack would be. The man called for several other soldiers to join him and set out, leaving one to escort Matt to the medical bus.

\---

“Matt, what happened to you? We had scouts out looking for you.” Tom sat down beside his youngest boy and pulled him into a hug. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Matt felt like his stomach had turned to lead. How could he tell his father that he had endangered his brother’s life all because of a stupid dream wherein he had seen his dead mother?

“I’m okay… My leg is cut, but Dr. Glass said I’ll be fine.” Tom looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain everything. “Dad… this is all my fault.” He burst into tears.

Tom looked surprised. “Matt, the skitters attacking was not your fault. I’m _very_ upset that you just walked away from the 2 nd Mass., but you’re alright and you were able to warn the sentries about what was coming for us. Our fighters will handle the attack.”

“No… Hal was the one who found m-me.” He wiped the wetness from his cheeks, but more quickly replaced it. “H-he wrapped up my leg and carried me back but the s-skitters were getting too close so he told me what to say a-and made me run and he s-stayed there.” Matt sobbed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he repeated in a repentant mantra that barely got through to Tom as he was still, entirely stunned by the news. Moments later, he jumped to his feet, leaving Lourdes with the request to please look after Matt while he was gone.

He picked up his gun, almost an hour late to the fight but not willing to take the chance that the soldiers would miss Hal out there. He got more ammunition and set out to recover his son.

\---

“Tom!” someone called, interrupting him on his way out to the forest. “Tom, don’t,”

“What? Look, I need to-”

“Sir, my team found Hal.” The man cut in, gaining Tom’s attention immediately.

“Is he alright?” he demanded.

The man dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t look good. He got hit by mech fire- almost bled out by the time we were able to get him back. He’ll be in the med bus by now-”

Tom took off back in the direction he had come from. When he arrived back at the bus, he was met with a tear stained and sorrowful look from Anne and a crying Lourdes. He shook his head in disbelief, moving past the woman as she tried to comfort him.

On the first cot was Hal, skin pale apart from his exposed chest that was covered in blood- his chest that was not moving.

Tom stood over his oldest son, unable to accept what he could clearly see had happened. He fell to his knees beside Hal’s head and wrapped his arms around his body, pulling him close. He buried his face in Hal’s neck and started sobbing ceaselessly, rocking Hal and whispering “No” repeatedly. He did not notice Anne’s hand squeezing his shoulder moments later, too caught up in the horror of losing his son. It was like losing his wife all over again, except this time, he would be mourning without the support of his eldest.

“Tom, I am so sorry.” Anne stressed, silent tears coursing down her cheeks. “I… There was nothing we could do. He wasn’t breathing when they brought him to me. Lourdes and I… we tried everything, I swear. I’m sorry.”

He nodded, barely even hearing her. He pulled back slightly and simply held Hal’s face gingerly in his hands, staring down at deep brown eyes that would never open again. Hal’s skin was becoming colder to the touch.

Tom heaved himself to his feet after half an hour passed. “Do Ben and Matt…?”

“No. No one’s told them.”

Tom nodded to himself, still gazing down at Hal’s body. “I’d better… I should…” he sighed shakily and wiped hands over his wet face, taking unsteady breaths as he tried not to start crying again. “I need to-”

“Go. I’ll clean him up so they won’t see him like this.”

Tom left the bus in search of his two remaining sons. He didn’t have to go far as they were waiting nearby, Matt curled up on Ben’s lap. The weight that had settled inside Tom seemed to grow infinitely heavier as he prepared to tell them the news.

“Dad!” Matt spotted his father first and ran over to hug him. “Maggie said they found Hal.” He looked up at his father expectantly, hope shining in his young eyes.

“I… Come back by Ben. I need to talk to you two.”

“But is he okay?”

Tom wrapped an arm around him and walked him back to Ben.

“Dad…” Ben said slowly, a look of realization appearing on his face.

Tom crouched down and placed a hand on each of the boys’ shoulders. He cleared his throat before he started talking. “Ben, Matt… There is absolutely no easy or even bearable way to say this…” he took a deep breath and saw tears spring to Ben’s eyes as he understood. The teen jumped to his feet and backed away from his father, shaking his head in horror. “Please, just- this is _so_ hard for me, too.”

“Dad?” Matt was still oblivious.

“Boys… Hal- he was very badly hurt.”

“Don’t.” Ben choked out, stabilizing himself against a nearby wall. “I… Hal…” he pushed away from the wall and ran over to the medical bus, throwing the door open and stopping at he slammed into Dr. Glass.

“Ben,” she put a hand on his arm, but he ripped it away and shoved past her to move over to his brother.

His expression crumbled into despair as he laid eyes on his brother’s body. A broken “no” escaped his lips and he stumbled forward to take Hal’s face into his hands. He pressed their foreheads together and let his tears pour down and fall onto the elder’s pale skin. “No,” he whispered. “You can’t. Hal-” he choked out a sob and brushed the pads of his fingers over his brother’s cheek. “You can’t be. Don’t… don’t go.” He tightly tangled his fingers in Hal’s hair, refusing to let go of him.

Outside, Tom had finished speaking to Matt, who was currently sobbing into his arms.

The boy’s death was a harsh blow to the 2nd Mass. Everyone who knew Hal liked him, his team was devastated, and Tom, Ben, and Matt were inconsolable. The youngest blamed himself, and Ben withdrew from everyone else, throwing himself wholeheartedly into his missions without the slightest care of whether he lived or died. All families had lost someone during or after the invasion, but Hal’s death left a hole that could not hope to be filled.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Matt wanders off alone and Hal gets killed rescuing him.
> 
> ~All credit to producers of Falling Skies~


End file.
